updated 12:05 pm EDT, Thu September 3, 2009

Fashion phone centers on the basics

In an unusual step, Sony Ericsson today unveiled a new designer phone meant to address those who just want to focus on core phone features. Although part of the XPERIA line, the Pureness is the exact opposite of smartphones like the XPERIA X2 and follows the mantra of "talk, text, time." Its standout feature is a transparent, monochrome display, and its only added feature is music playback locally or on FM.

While Sony is quiet on most details, it does acknowledge that the phone supports an optional camera attachment and should have both Bluetooth and quad-band GSM/EDGE for calls and 2G data. Sony Ericsson is due to ship the Pureness in November; it hasn't said which countries will get the phone, but a North American release is probable given 850MHz support.